Taiwanese democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui’s (蔣渭水) ashes are to be reinterred in his native Yilan County on Oct. 17, with an exhibition and a two-day concert to honor his life, the Yilan County Government said.
Born in Yilan in 1891, Chiang was an anti-colonialist who fought Japanese rule and the founder of the Taiwanese Cultural Association, Taiwanese Workers’ League, Taiwanese People’s Party and the Taiwan Minpao newspaper. Chiang, who died in 1931 in Taipei, is considered the first significant leader to promote Taiwanese culture and autonomy.
A motorcade is to take Chiang’s ashes from Taipei’s Liuzhangli Public Cemetery to Yilan’s Cherry Blossom Cemetery, Yilan County Civil Affairs Department Director Shao Chih-chi (邵治綺) said.
Shao said the county government renamed a hill at Cherry Blossom Cemetery “Wei-shui Hill” (渭水之丘) to commemorate “a man of action who moved forward ceaselessly.”
This was also the inspiration for the design for the event’s logo: “Chiang Wei-shui, the Walker.”
Artist Wen Hsiao-mei (溫曉梅) was invited to create the Chiang Wei-shui Exhibition: Images and Installations, Shao said.
The exhibition’s visual motif of an “open window” signifies how Chiang opened vistas to the future for Taiwanese, she said, adding that the show is to open on Thursday in Yilan City’s Dioudioudang Forest Park Square (丟丟噹森林廣場). The funeral procession is to stop at seven Yilan City historic sites associated with Chiang, including his residence, Wenchang Temple (文昌廟), Chaoyin Temple (昭應宮) and the Temple of the City God (城隍廟), she said.
Concerts are to be held on Oct. 17 and Oct. 18, featuring musicians known for social activism, she said. Performers on the first day include Jacky Chen (陳建瑋), Chen Ming-chang (陳明章), Lin Sheng-xiang (林生祥), Ilid Kaolo and punk group Fire Ex (滅火器), while the Village Armed Youth (農村武裝青年), Hakka hip-hop artist Kou Chou Ching (拷秋勤) and the Taipei Chinese Orchestra perform on the second day, she said.
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